KIM J. WILLENSON, a former Asia Policy Point Board Member, passed away on September 24, 2013 at the Virginia Hospital Center, surrounded by his family who loved him dearly. He was a veteran journalist who worked in Vietnam and Japan for Newsweek and was the author of the 1988 book, The Bad War: An Oral History of the Vietnam War. He was editor and publisher during the 1990s of the seminal Japan Digest, which made Japanese news accessible and understandable to the American policy community. He set the standard for reporting on Japan.

A farewell gathering will be held at 1:30 pm, Sunday, September 29 at the National Funeral Home, 7482 Lee Highway, Falls Church, VA 22042. The meeting will be followed by a graveside ceremony at the adjacent grounds of the National Memorial Park/King David Memorial Gardens. Reception following at funeral home. His friends are welcome to make remarks at the gathering or to leave comments HERE.

Thursday, September 26, 2013

By William Brooks, APP Senior Fellow, Adjunct Professor, SAIS Johns HopkinsThis essay first appeared in the Monday, September 30th edition of the Asia Policy Calendar.

Forget any brickbats in the media: Caroline Kennedy is a wonderful choice to be the new U.S. ambassador to Japan.

Japan, like Britain, has become a key ally and friend of the United States; and Tokyo has become like London a leading cosmopolitan city. It is a logical place for a U.S. President to award a distinguished ambassadorial post to a close supporter and confidante. Unlike her grandfather, Joseph P. Kennedy, the U.S. Ambassador in London during The Blitz (1940), she will enjoy the trust of the President.

Ambassador Caroline Kennedy can be expected to bring traditional diplomacy to Japan. Until now, this highly social and elegant form of statesmanship seemed more appropriate for European capitals than for Asian ones. The famous Kennedy name and the new ambassador’s personal credentials will be a tremendous boost for this kind of American-style public diplomacy. Moreover, the new ambassador will have the ear of the President, as well as the Secretary of State – extremely important for a Japan that often has seemed off the radar for Washington policymakers.

The new ambassador’s priorities will obviously include developing close personal relations with Japan’s movers and shakers in the political, government, educational and cultural sectors, as well as nurturing the already friendly ties between the two peoples. She can build on the good work that her predecessor Ambassador John Roos began under the Operation Tomodachi initiative.

In recent years, the Japanese and American societies seem to be growing somewhat distant from each other, not surprising perhaps in an environment in which pressing global issues crowd out the diplomatic and security agendas for East Asia, and given the already short attention span of the media. Indeed, the growing lack of American media interest in Japan can be charted by the scarcity of news articles and journalism, the dwindling number of Japanese students in the U.S. and vice versa, and even the waning presence of Japanese business representatives in the U.S.

The new Ambassador must not only find suitable sparring partners with important opinion leaders, but also expand efforts of the previous ambassador, also initially seen as an “amateur” to diplomacy and things Japanese, to deepen and broaden ties from the grass-roots level up. Despite being a fast read, the new ambassador will most likely need some time to learn the essentials about dealing with Japan and its bilateral issues, but she will have on hand an expert staff of diplomats and advisers who can guide her through her first months in office.

She will need to reach out quickly to the Japanese public through speeches, op-eds, and the usual array of meetings, receptions, and soirees with Tokyo’s elite. She should also get out and see the country, meeting average Japanese at every opportunity and taking advantage of Japan’s great natural beauty and the many cultural heritages sites. A climb up Mt. Fuji, just declared a World Heritage site, would be a golden opportunity.

Just about every American ambassador who has come to Tokyo sooner or later seems to encounter their own version of baptism by fire: a crisis that tests their management abilities to the core. How an ambassador resolves each crisis can shape the relationship. The famous photo of Ambassador Mike Mansfield bowing deeply in apology to Japanese leaders after a U.S. submarine had fatally collided with a Japanese fishing boat in Tokyo Bay earned the respect of many Japanese.

Ambassador Walter Mondale worked hard to bring to closure a period of great national outrage in Japan over the gang rape of a schoolgirl in Okinawa by setting in motion a mechanism to reduce the U.S. military footprint in that prefecture. Ambassador Tom Foley masterfully dealt with the tragic collision near Hawaii of a U.S. submarine and a Japanese training ship filled with students. Ambassador Howard Baker faced the horror of 9-11 and then the war on terror just after arriving at his new post in Tokyo. Ambassador Jon Roos played a critical role in U.S. efforts to console Japan and mobilize assistance after the triple earthquake disaster struck northern Japan on March 11, 2011.

Not that Ambassador Kennedy will encounter a crisis of like proportions on her watch, but the region is a dangerous place. North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs are a direct threat to Japan and American security interests. China’s risky game of military brinksmanship in the waters off the disputed Senkaku Islands make that area a potential flashpoint should an incident or accident occur.

Ambassador Kennedy will be well served by a team of experts and advisers already in place in the U.S. Embassy, and she will be kept well informed of moods and trends in Japan by media watchers in the press section. Some key issues seem now well underway toward resolution, such as Japan as part of a TPP agreement. Others, such as the resolution of U.S. basing in Okinawa, remain open and contentious. These will demand concerted efforts in Washington and Tokyo, and some imagination.

Most important, the Ambassador will have to ensure that democracy flourishes in Japan as the security environment worsens. Unlike her grandfather in embattled Britain, she cannot dismiss democracy as impractical or capitulation as inevitable. She promises to be an ardent defender of human rights, individual liberties, tolerance, and women’s empowerment. A fresh look by the new ambassador and her team at the current state of U.S.-Japan relations that goes beyond the usual defense and security perimeters may be just what is needed.

BROTHERS AT WAR: THE UNENDING CONFLICT IN KOREA. 9/23, 9:30-11:00am, Washington, DC. Sponsors: Cold War International History Project, History and Public Policy Program, and Asia Program of The Wilson Center. Speakers: Author, Sheila Miyoshi Jager, Director, East Asian Program at Oberlin College; Gregg Bazinsky, Author, Nation Building in South Korea and Co-director of George Washington University's Cold War Group.

All Quiet in the Blue House

The election of Park Geun-hye as South Korea’s first female president signaled a historic change of governance. Yet, after her first six months in office Ms. Park still needs to translate her words into deeds.

In the perception of many South Koreans it has been rather quiet lately in the Blue House, the official residence of the president located in Seoul. During the first six months of Park Geun-hye’s term of office the biggest event has been a trip to the United States to meet with President Barack Obama. And this trip ended in a disaster clouded by a scandal of sexual harassment.

It is not Ms. Park’s first time in the Blue House. She is the oldest daughter of Park Chung-heewhoruled South Korea as a military dictator from 1961 to 1979.She was born in 1952. After her mother was shot in 1974, she acted as the de facto First Lady. After her father’s death in 1979, Ms. Park stayed away from the public limelight for more than 20 years. In December 2012, the former party head of the major conservative partySaenuri-dang (New Frontier Party) – formerly Hannara-dang (Grand National Party) – was elected as president.

While Park Chung-hee had to fight starvation and try to build up an economy, people nowadays are more concerned with the distribution of wealth than with headline GDP figures. "The popular perception is of a successful country that is stricken with economic inequality, excessive power in the hands of the chaebol conglomerates (family-owned business conglomerates), and a lack of decent jobs for young graduates", writes the Economist after the inauguration on February 25, 2013.

Before the general’s daughter was elected as president shepromised to fight these problems and expand the welfare state. She spoke of "a new era of happiness" for South Korea. When she was sworn in, Ms. Park alsoassured a tough stance on national security, saying that she would "not tolerate any action that threatens the lives of our people and the security of our nation".

The new president promises to reduce social inequality

On the economy, Ms. Park promised more focus on a "creative economy" based on "economic democratization" that would expand beyond existing markets and sectors. South Korea's economic growth has slowed, the population is rapidly aging, and demands for a fairer distribution of wealth are now being voiced.

Policies will be brought in to help small and medium-sized enterprises flourish, Ms. Park said. Unfair practices will be abandoned and misguided habits of the past rectified. She also promised a "clean, transparent and competent government".

According to the South Korea report of the new Asia study by the Bertelsmann Foundation’s Sustainable Governance Indicators (SGI) project, Ms. Park has been "very smartin asserting new political goals such as welfare state policies as a means of attracting low-income voters". Opposition parties have been caught off guard by these political shifts.

The SGI report shows that the former government has had little success in persuading the huge export-oriented business conglomerates to engage in corporate social responsibility, support small suppliers and leave certain markets to small companies. It remains uncertain, however, if the new president will prove able to act more forcefully in limiting economic concentration and facilitating greater transparency and accountability among the primarily family-owned companies through new laws and regulations.

Moreover, given that Ms. Park is the first female president in the history of South Korea it will also be interesting to see whether she will push for greater women rights.Discrimination is a big problem in South Korea and women remain underrepresented in almost all important sectors, according the SGI study. The wage gap between men and women is on average 38 per cent, the biggest in the OECD.

"More participation of women in the economy is a core engine for the nation’s growth," Park Geun-hye said on a campaign in July 2012. A work-life balance is no longer just an issue for women but the entire country. However,ensuring an easier combination of parenting and participating in the labor market might not be a heartfelt desirefor a president who is 61 years old, unmarried and has no children.

South Koreans are divided over their new president

The SGI South Korea report also indicates that it might be a cause for concern that Ms. Park has not clearly distanced herself from the policies of her father. For many South Koreans this is a controversial issue.

Some people acknowledge the achievements of Park Chung-hee as the leader of the "miracle on the Han River". This refers to South Korea's rapid economic growth after World War II which brought racy industrialization, technological achievements, a boom in education as well as large improvements in living standards and fast modernization. Park Chung-hee had no choice back in those days, many older South Koreans say. He had to fight poverty and starvation first. Others – especially people who have been affected by the strict regime and military suppression – fiercely contest this claim.

But in the eyes of many South Koreans today – supporters and opponents – not much has happened in the first six months of Ms. Park’s presidency. She keeps on saying that she will fabricate a "creative economy", but what this really means hasn’t even been defined yet clearly.Nobody even knows what is meant by "creative economy".

Thus far, the issue many ordinary citizens in South Korea associate most with their new president is her first trip abroad, which ended in a disaster. Ms. Park fired her spokesman Yoon Chang-jung amid allegations that he sexually harassed a young South Korean woman. Later thesenior secretary for public relations to the president took responsibility for the incident and resigned. South Koreans were shocked and hardly anybody paid attention to the outcome of the state visit.

Young-Sim Song, a business school graduate, is a journalist for economic affairs covering the European power and gas markets. She lives in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

Sunday, September 15, 2013

9/17 - CONSTITUTION DAY, NB: The U.S. Constitution was adopted on September 17, 1787, by the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and ratified by conventions in eleven States. It went into effect on March 4, 1789.AIR AND SPACE CONFERENCE AND TECHNOLOGY EXPOSITION. 9/16-18, National Harbor, MD. Sponsor: Air Force Association. Speakers: Eric Fanning, Acting Air Force Secretary; Carlo Margrassi, Lt. Gen., Italian Air Force; Michael Hayden, Former Director of National Security Agency and Central Intelligence Agency; Charles Wald, Former Deputy Commander of US European Command; Doug Fraser, Former Commander of US Southern Command; Loren Reno, Former Deputy Chief of Staff; David Deptula, Former Deputy Chief of Staff; Lani Kass, Former Special Assistant to the Air Force Chief of Staff.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Via ShisakuBlog,
the Saturday (August 24) of Shisaku’s
local newspaper, Tokyo Shimbun, published a letter-to-the-editor (in a special box, so as to
attract the eye) by a reader who took issue with the whole concept of heroes
being enshrined at Yasukuni:

[Dear Editor]

Last year my grandfather passed away. He served in the war as a merchant marine
sailor. The story is that the ship that my grandfather was on was attacked by
Americans and sunk. My grandfather, in the confusion inside the ship, grabbed
ahold of a door. By holding tight to the floating door, he survived to be
picked up by another merchant marine vessel, thereby escaping the fate of
losing his life in the battle zone.

Many times did my grandfather say to me, "Had I died then, your father,
and of course you, Tetsu, would never had been born." However, never did
anything like "Ah, to fight for one's country is a glorious thing!"
come to his lips.

Those wishing to legitimize Yasukuni or the Great War always talk about
"heroes (eiyu) who died fighting
for their country" or some such thing. But to make it sound like a
Hollywood movie where alien life forms were coming to our land to unilaterally
to attack us -- this is mistaken. Those whose lives were sacrificed in that war
were sacrificed for the idiotic lusts and policy failures of the military leaders
and the politicians, and the capitalists who insinuated themselves into their
company.

In the first place, as was written in theSanmen no kakushinarticle "Thinking about visiting
Yasukuni" (Yasukuni sanpai o
kangaeru) published in this newspaper on the 14th [of August], how much
value should we be assigning Yasukuni? The shrine was built to honor the battle
dead of imperial forces, those who died in the Meiji Restoration and other
conflicts of the time, using Japan's tradition of imperial rule to political
ends.*

If there are those who wish to believe that the spirits of their ancestors,
who, unlike my grandfather, did indeed die on the battlefield, are honored at
this shrine, fine -- I have no problem with that. However, the statement
"They died fighting for their country" -- that I want revised. At the
very least, it was not for these chest-thumpers in the present day who say
"the honored dead (eiyu) are the
pride of Japanese people and the State (kokka)"
that those who sacrificed their bodies and lost their lives on the field of
battle did what they did.Kameda Tetsu Age: 35 Occupation: company employee Matsudo City, Chiba Prefecture

* The implication being that far from being a place for honoring those who fought for the protection of Japan, Yasukuni was at its origins a shrine tasked with the placation of the spirits of those who lost their lives in domestic political violence, a civil war.

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